Toddler drowns while out crabbing with her parents

Flowers placed at Mandurah Jetty where a two-year-old drowned while crabbing with her parents.

Graeme Powell

A toddler has drowned while out fishing with her parents at Mandurah, south of Perth.

Police say the girl, 2, was with her parents, who were crabbing in the estuary under the Mandurah traffic bridge, when she disappeared about 8:00pm.

The Duty Inspector, Bill Norton, says police were notified a short time later.

"We got a call earlier on in the night to say the parents were looking for the child," he said.

"The parents were of a non-English speaking background, so it was a passerby who rang."

Water police, the local marine rescue group and volunteers with torches began a search for the girl.

Her body was recovered by police divers five hours later.

It is believed she was walking on a jetty when she fell into the estuary.

Lauren Nimmo from Royal Life Saving WA says the tragedy highlights the need for parents to be vigilant around water at all times.

She says parents cannot afford to be distracted for even a moment when their child is near water.

"Unfortunately these tragic incidents that do involve young children around the water happen in a matter of seconds where supervision by an adult or carer may be lacking or when they are distracted by other things," she said.

"[It's] a common occurrence especially, around the festive season that we have coming up.

"Tragically, it serves as a reminder to all people in the community the importance of being safe around the water and supervising children at all times when they are around the water."